0.13.17 — counters without zeros

Under a freshly published entry stood two numbers, both working against it. “1 view” in the byline and “0 comments” above the comments section. Each tells the reader the same thing: no one is here. That is exactly the signal a fresh text should not be sending.

From 0.13.17 the view counter appears only from a threshold — ten views. Below it, it disappears entirely. We are not hiding the measurement, only the display: a view is still recorded exactly as before, we simply do not show the number until it grows large enough to give nothing away. The threshold lives in one engine constant, `MIN_VIEWS_SHOWN`.

The comments section loses its count line. There is no more “0 comments” or “3 comments” — the number is not shown at all. Comments appear only when there are any, and below them, as before, stands the invitation to write one. Along the way the engine sheds the last string hardcoded into it: the fallback “Comments” shown while loading. The plural inflection of the word stopped being needed and goes too.

Both changes have one justification. A counter is an ornament, not a function; when it reads a handful or zero, it stops being an ornament and becomes a record of emptiness. Better to show nothing than a number that puts people off. When there is something to count, the numbers come back on their own — from the threshold where they begin to mean something.